Four major pencil brands have a market share of over Rs 4000 crore in the Indian stationery market. Difficult to believe? You will remember that in your childhood you used all the pencils of these brands. But the brand Doms has brought a new turn in the pencil industry itself. The story of Domus, which is at the top of the pencil industry, surpassing giant brands, is very attractive. Let's take a look at how Domus has grown from a small pencil manufacturing facility in Amburgan to a company that is on track to reach 1,000 sales this year. They have not only captured the stationery market in a big way but have also overtaken the giant companies like Apsara, Natraj and Camelin. Doms are a testament to how any small enterprise can subjugate even large markets if it makes the products quality-oriented and listens to the customers.

If we look at the Indian stationery market, four major companies control the market. One of them is Hindustan Pencils, which owns Natraj Pencil and Apsara Pencil. They also have the largest manufacturing facility, producing 8 million pencils per day. The other is Dandekar's, which is owned by Kokuyo and Camel. Then there is Dankanis, a company that produces pencils for other brands. The fourth one is DOM run by Santosh Revashya. The stationery market in India is a Rs 4000 crore market. The pencil in it is a commoditized product. That's why the market is difficult even for large companies. For example, let us look at the case of Hindustan pencils. In 2015, they made a profit of Rs 9 crore, but by 2018, it was down to just Rs 1 crore.But the profit of Kokuyo and Camelin increased from Rs. 4.9 crore to Rs. 9.8 crore in three years. However, the profit margin of Doms increased from Rs 13 crore in 2014 to Rs 26 crore in 2017. The company has grown over 20% in CARG since 2013. While its main competitors, Camel and Hindustan Pencil, generated a turnover of Rs 500 crore last year, Doms generated a turnover of Rs 700 crore and is expected to generate a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore this year. This represents a 60% increase from the pre-Covid period in 2020. These are the approximate form of Indian stationery market and domes. But the big question is, how did they do it?

Let's talk about five big strategies that can be very helpful for Domus.

The first is the importance of product innovation. The very simple principle that they follow is that if the product that you are giving is of good quality then the customers will still buy from you and suggest their friends to buy the same. They give more importance to the quality of the product than product marketing and branding. Because of this dream they put forward in product innovation, they are today the world's largest manufacturer of polymer pencils. Pencils are usually made of graphite, which is safe and non-toxic. The most commonly used wooden pencils are made from a mixture of lead clay and graphite. But Dom makes lead from a mixture of graphite and a plastic polymer to make his pencil a little more smooth. This makes it easier to write than other pencils. This is mainly because DOMs consider school-going children as their target users. These children have no idea about pencil strikes or the length of the nib and all they want is pencils that can be written easily and quickly at home and school.Similarly, the Doms made the shape of their pencil triangular. It is estimated that school-age children use pencils for an average of four to five hours a day. To reduce the strain on the fingers from using the pencil for so long and to increase the grip, they came up with triangular pencils. And it's been very successful. In this way, they are able to bring innovation in the product because the construction is completely taken over by the Doms themselves. The wood, lead, and paint used to make the pencils are all from the Doms. Since most of the Doms products are completely manufactured by themselves, they can save a lot of manufacturing cost. They can not only control the cost of production, but also ensure quality.

The second secret to their success is that they understand their target audience. Every product has a buyer and a seller. For example, think of the uncle who advises you to get health insurance. They are the ones who buy a product. Similarly, stationery products also have influencers, buyers and end-users category. This has been changing for a long time. Take the children of the 90s, for example, whose parents bought all the pencils and books they needed and influenced which ones they wanted. When school started, parents bought pencils and books for their children, and the children had no part in deciding which one they wanted. This could be due to many reasons, such as low-income parents, lack of modernization, and lack of brands in the market. But in today's world, everything has changed. Today's children are influential. They see new gadgets used by their friends and want the same for themselves. Against this background, children began to influence their parents to buy books and gadgets of their choice, as well as Domus products.

This is the third secret of their success. With strong brands like Faber Castle coming into the Indian market, the stationery market has become highly competitive in terms of price and quality. The only way to stand out in such a market is to build a brand. Brands can always be seen as valuable in the market, and consumers are willing to pay more for brands that deliver on their promises. Domus was able to make their brand stand out because they focused on product quality over marketing and advertising. Particularly in their packaging. Doms definitely stood out when the children took their stationery items to school.Their success came from the little joys the children could have. Their products come in a variety of colors that children will love. In the same way, the pencils were in a triangle, which is why the domes were different from the other pencils at first glance. Erasers, which are a product of Domus, had a fragrance that children liked. The children were delighted to see that their DOMS product stood out among their friends. That's why other kids want Doms products. Due to this, the sale of Doms products as organic without the extra cost of advertising and marketing has grown tremendously.

Fourth, they focused on distribution. Santosh Revashya, the head of the Doms, worked at Kisan for two years. This wealth of experience helped him understand more about the supply chain that can be implemented in India. Today, DOM has more than 1000 channel partners and 3000 distributors in major cities like Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot and Mumbai. Moving away from spending heavily on marketing, as previously stated, they focused mainly on sales, research and development, and people management. This has enabled them to create a large supply chain that is ahead of its time. Philae, which owns 51% of Domus, allows them to export their pencils to 150 countries. In the past, companies were not very aware of how the supply chain works. But Domes understood every link in the supply chain very well. Dom's thinking that everyone in their supply chain is their own family member has helped them succeed so much. If you go to any stationery shop in India, you will find more Doms than any other product.

Fifth their secret of success is their realization that any low average value product can be successful by selling in bundles and not by selling one or two products. Take McDonald's, for example. They will make an offer in front of the user who comes to buy a burger that it will be cheaper than buying one. Similarly, Doms has launched its Drawing Kit, Art Kit, Gift and Kit combo in the price range of Rs 350 to Rs 500. It was a very successful strategy. Although their main source of income is a five-rupee pencil, the aim is to understand the children better and go further.